People v. Archer CA2/7

INTRODUCTION

Before the trial court accepts a defendant’s guilty or no contest plea, the court must advise the defendant of his or her maximum possible sentence if convicted of all charges. Failure to do so may be good cause to allow the defendant to withdraw the plea. In advising the defendant of the maximum possible sentence, does the court have to take into account the potential consequences of Penal Code section 654?* Our answer is no.

Defendant Vaughn Archer appeals from the trial court’s order denying his motion to withdraw his no contest plea. Archer contends that the trial court overstated the maximum sentence he faced if convicted on all nine of the charges against him when the court advised him that he faced a maximum sentence of 34 years four months to life. Archer asserts that the trial court should have taken into account that section 654 would have applied to stay the sentences on some of the charges, and that, considering section 654, the maximum sentence Archer actually faced was 23 years to life. Archer contends that had he known his maximum sentence was 23 years to life rather than 34 years four months to life, he would not have accepted the negotiated…